GARLAND — Sleepy kids eat their eggs, drink their milk and watch TV — just like at home.

Only it’s not home and it’s not the school cafeteria, either. It’s the classroom.

A growing number of North Texas schools are doing what they can to make sure students in need are hungry for learning — and not for food — by bringing federally funded breakfast to the students’ desks.

Heather Glen Elementary was one of five Garland ISD schools that began serving breakfast in the classroom in the 2014-15 school year. Now, 24 of the district's schools participate.

Fewer than 200 students at Heather Glen would eat breakfast when it was only available in the cafeteria before school. Some students wouldn’t make it in time; others didn’t want to face the stigma of needing a free meal.

Now that everyone is offered breakfast, and there’s no distinguishing between those who do and don’t rely on it — about 450 of the school’s 560 children choose to eat at school.

Gabriela Castillo, 7, eats breakfast in her classroom at Heather Glen Elementary School in Garland. Schools have shifted away from a model of providing breakfast early in the cafeteria to providing breakfast in the classroom during first period. (David Woo/Staff Photographer)

Jose Lopez, 7, eats breakfast in his classroom at Heather Glen Elementary School on Tuesday, November 1, 2016 in Garland, Texas. Schools have shifted away from a model of providing breakfast early in the cafeteria to providing breakfast in the classroom during first period. This has increased participation rates. There are fewer stigmas associated with eating a free breakfast when everyone does it. (David Woo/The Dallas Morning News)

(Staff Photographer)

Jennifer Craig, assistant director of nutrition and menu operations for Garland ISD, said the program has reduced discipline problems and increased student engagement.

Tardiness and visits to the nurse because of hunger have decreased, said Heather Glen principal Cristal Joslin.

During a recent breakfast at the school, Andrea Morales and her classmates ate breakfast while watching morning announcements on TV.

A Sunrise Stick — a wrap with egg, cheese and ham — was on the menu, but Andrea, 8, prefers pancake stick day.

“You have to eat or you might get hungry,” she said.

Hungry kids can’t learn

Offering breakfast in class is only financially viable in schools where more than 80 percent of the student body qualifies for free or reduced lunches. Otherwise, the district would lose money. Statewide, almost two-thirds of students qualify for free or reduced-cost meals.

Almost half of U.S. children who are eligible for a free or reduced-price breakfast through the federal School Breakfast Program are not eating it, according to the Food Research & Action Center, a national nonprofit that focuses on hunger in the U.S.

A coalition of national education and nutrition organizations called the Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom hopes to change that. The group is offering grants to start the initiative in school districts across 10 states, including Texas.

The group wants to allocate $5 million to provide breakfast for 30,000 students. The money comes from a $7.5 million grant from the Walmart Foundation.

“One thing we know for sure is when kids are hungry, they can’t learn,” said Noel Candelaria, president of the Texas State Teachers Association.

‘We have to go to the students’

Irving ISD was the first school district in North Texas to experiment with breakfast in the classroom. It began the program in two schools more than a decade ago. Now, 23 of the 36 schools in the district serve breakfast during first period.

“Children are just like us. If we haven’t eaten, we get cranky and irritable, and they have even less self-control than we do,” said Michael Rosenburger, director of food and nutrition services at Irving ISD.

Schools in the district recently tweaked their delivery model. Instead of breakfast in the classroom, food carts in the hallway are available for students to take their meal into first period.

Every school in Dallas ISD provides breakfast in the classroom. Because so many students qualify for free or reduced lunch, the district began offering free meals to all of them in 2013.

“Parents feel better knowing whether they’re late or on time, my child has access to breakfast everyday,” said Olga Rosenberger, interim executive director of the food and child nutrition services department at Dallas ISD.

Most elementary schools in the district have the meal delivered directly to classes.

Most high schools have kiosks in locations where students already gather. “We have to go to the students because the students won’t come to us,” Rosenberger said.

They can grab smoothies and granola bars to energize for the day.

No syrup on test day

Moving breakfast from the cafeteria to the classroom takes some adjustments.

At Heather Glen, cafeteria manager Nelly Vasquez hired two new employees to cover the logistics: Hot and cold meals needed to be separated and delivered to 28 classrooms. The school also ordered trash cans with wheels, one for each classroom.